Brutus Browne (by 1564-1595), of Brown's Hillash, [2] in the parish of Langtree, Devon, was an English naval officer who fought against the Spanish Armada of 1588 and was a Member of Parliament for Bodmin, Cornwall, in 1586-7. [3]
He was the second son and heir of Thomas Browne (d.1596) (alias Bevill) of Brown's Ilash, a feodary (an official of the Court of Wards and Liveries) of the Duchy of Cornwall, [4] by his wife Joane Lene, daughter and heiress of John Lene of Cornwall. His younger brother was Sir Thomas Browne (d.1614) of Langtree, who was knighted at Windsor Castle on 9 July 1603 [1] and who built at Brown's Ilash "a dwelling house with a park thereunto" (Risdon). [5] Sir Thomas Browne died without progeny, [1] after which the family estates were "divided among distaffs"(Risdon). [5]
His parliamentary seat for Bodmin in Cornwall was probably due to his father's influence as a feodary of the Duchy of Cornwall. [4]
He fought against the Spanish Armada of 1588, aboard the galleon Rainbow under the command of Lord Henry Seymour, [4] a younger son of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset by his second wife Anne Stanhope. In 1595 he took part in and invested 1,000 marks in (what proved to be) the last expedition of Drake and Hawkins, which sought to capture a Spanish treasure ship, believed to be waiting at Puerto Rico. [4] The Spanish learned of the plan and were well-prepared when the Rainbow reached Puerto Rico in November 1595.
The Spanish shore batteries fired on the English fleet at anchor and a cannonball penetrated the great cabin of the Defiance , where Sir Francis Drake and his officers, including Browne, were at table. Drake's stool was knocked from under him, and although he was uninjured, Browne Sir Nicholas Clifford were mortally wounded. [4] Browne wrote his will on board the Defiance on 19 November 1595 and commended his body to the earth or to the sea "whereof I am indifferent". He bequeathed a diamond ring to Drake, whom he described as his "honourable and most kind good friend", as "a testimony of the honest love he owed him, and with many hearty wishes for his happy success in his voyage". [4] He appears to have died unmarried. [6]
Devon was a parliamentary constituency covering the county of Devon in England. It was represented by two Knights of the Shire, in the House of Commons of England until 1707, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and finally the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. Elections were held using the bloc vote system of elections.
Meavy is a small village, civil parish and former manor in the English county of Devon. Meavy forms part of the district of West Devon. It lies a mile or so east of Yelverton. The River Meavy runs near the village. For administrative purposes the parish is grouped with the parishes of Sheepstor and Walkhampton to form Burrator Parish Council, and for electoral purposes it is grouped with the same two parishes to form Burrator Ward.
Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 2nd Baronet, of Trelawny in the parish of Pelynt in Cornwall, England, was a Member of Parliament.
Nicholas Monck was a Bishop of Hereford and Provost of Eton College, both royal appointments made by King Charles II following the 1660 Restoration of the Monarchy which was largely effected by his elder brother George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle (1608–1670), KG. Nicholas Monck was "a great assistant in the Restoration to his brother".
John Rolle (1598–1648) was a Turkey Merchant and also served as MP for the Rolle family's controlled borough of Callington, Cornwall, in 1626 and 1628 and for Truro, Cornwall, in 1640 for the Short Parliament and in November 1640 for the Long Parliament. He supported the Parliamentarian side in the English Civil War.
Sir John Arundell, of Trerice in Cornwall, was a Member of Parliament for Mitchell, Cornwall, in 1555 and 1558, and was High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1573–1574.
John Rashleigh II of Menabilly, near Fowey in Cornwall, was an English merchant and was MP for Fowey in 1588 and 1597, and was High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1608. He was the builder of the first mansion house on the family estate at Menabilly, near Fowey, Cornwall, thenceforth the seat of the family until the present day. Many generations later the Rashleigh family of Menabilly in the Return of Owners of Land, 1873 was listed as the largest landowner in Cornwall with an estate of 30,156 acres (122.04 km2) or 3.97% of the total area of Cornwall.
Sir William Mohun of Hall in the parish of Lanteglos-by-Fowey and of Boconnoc, both in Cornwall, was a Member of Parliament.
Paul Speccot of Penheale in the parish of Egloskerry in Cornwall, was a Member of Parliament successively for Bossiney, East Looe and Newport all in Cornwall, between 1626 and 1640.
Sir Thomas Wise, KB, of Sydenham in the parish of Marystow and of Mount Wise in the parish of Stoke Damerel in Devon, was Sheriff of Devon in 1612 and in 1621 served as a member of parliament for Bere Alston in Devon.
John Upton of Lupton in the parish of Brixham in Devon, was four times elected a Member of Parliament for Dartmouth in Devon at various times between 1625 and 1641.
John Harris of Hayne in the parish of Stowford in Devon and of St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall, was a Member of Parliament.
Sir John Fowell, 3rd Baronet of Fowelscombe in the parish of Ugborough in Devon, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1689 to 1692.
Sir William Strode (1562–1637) of Newnham in the parish of Plympton St Mary, Devon, England, was a member of the Devon landed gentry, a military engineer and seven times a Member of Parliament elected for Devon in 1597 and 1624, for Plympton Erle in 1601, 1604, 1621 and 1625, and for Plymouth in 1614. He was High Sheriff of Devon from 1593 to 1594 and was knighted in 1598. In 1599 he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Devon. There is a monument to him in the parish church of Plympton St Mary.
Sir Thomas Monck of Potheridge in the parish of Merton, Devon, was Member of Parliament for Camelford, Cornwall, in 1626. He was the father of George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle (1608-70), KG and of Nicholas Monck, Bishop of Hereford.
The Armada Service is a set of more than 31 gilded silver dishes, dated between 1581 and 1601, formerly owned by Sir Christopher Harris, MP, of Radford House in the parish of Plymstock in Devon, England. Twenty-six of these dishes are now in the collection of the British Museum in London.
Sir Peter Prideaux, 3rd Baronet (1626–1705), of Netherton in the parish of Farway, near Honiton, Devon, was an English politician.
Ambrose Bellot, of Downton in Devon was a Member of Parliament for East Looe in Cornwall in 1597.
Sir Christopher Harris of Radford in the parish of Plymstock in Devon, was a Member of Parliament for Plymouth in Devon in 1584. He was knighted in 1607. He should not be confused with his great-nephew and heir apparent Christopher Harris (d.1623) of Lanrest in the parish of Liskeard in Cornwall, a Member of Parliament for West Looe in Cornwall (1621).
Richard Cole of Bucks in the parish of Woolfardisworthy in North Devon, and of Slade in the parish of Cornwood, South Devon, was a member of the Devonshire gentry whose large monument with effigy survives in All Hallows Church, Woolfardisworthy. Certain modern sources link him to Old King Cole in the synonymous Nursery rhyme.